ⓒYONHAP News

An umbrella labor union staged massive rallies Saturday afternoon in Seoul and Busan amid an ongoing strike by unionized cargo truck drivers.

The labor protests by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) kicked off at 2 p.m. outside the National Assembly in Seoul and at Busan New Port.

Truckers nationwide began a general strike Thursday last week, hampering freight deliveries across the country, as they demand an extension of minimum wage guarantees.  

An official of KCTU said the truckers strike is a fight for the entire confederation that must be won and vowed to step up the momentum of the walkout and crush the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's anti-labor suppression.

The group plans more simultaneous rallies across the country at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Gatherings could take place at key locations in sync with the regional chapters of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union.

Meanwhile, the government will begin imposing penalties from Monday on striking cement truckers who fail to comply with the return-to-work order.

The first noncompliance will result in suspended work for up to 30 days. If they don't comply for the second time, truckers will lose their license.

According to the transport ministry on Friday, a joint government team has completed onsite inspections at 201 cement transport companies to identify who are on strike. A second survey from Monday will seek to determine if transport operations have resumed.

For those transport firms failing to do so, the ministry can notify local authorities to issue administrative measures such as a business suspension.

As of Friday, the volume of cement shipments stood at 117-thousand tons, 62 percent of normal levels. However, the figure is up by more than 500 percent from the 22-thousand tons recorded Monday, a day before the return-to-work order was invoked.